APSAC and CSSAC Presentation
Purdue Quality of
Work Environment Initiative
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Phase II: Survey Findings
January 2015
Project Phase I: Focus Groups
Phase I: Focus Groups
• 12 groups in December 2013/January 2014
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Key themes:
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Respect, recognition and involvement
Advancement, career paths, and training and development
Workload and staffing
Management and leadership skills
Work/life integration
Workplace flexibility
Organizational policies and practices
Stress, health and well-being
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Drivers & Outcomes of Engagement
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Project Phase II: Staff Survey
Phase II: Staff Survey
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April 2014 via Qualtrics
Non-faculty staff -- West Lafayette campus
Completed surveys: 2,575 (over one-third of staff)
Goals:
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Evaluate baseline employee perceptions of the quality of the work
environment and employee engagement at Purdue
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Identify key factors that have the greatest effect on the quality of the work
environment
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Evaluate influence of the work environment on employee well-being and
performance
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Characteristics of Survey Respondents
Job Group
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41% Administrative/Professional
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18% Clerical
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17% Service
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12% Operations/Technical
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11% Management
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1% Police/Fire
Years of Service (Tenure)
• 17% less than one year
• 15% 2–4 years
• 17% 5–7 years
• 17% 8–12 years
• 18% 13–20 years
• 17% 21 or more years
Age and Gender
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Two-thirds women
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Average reported age of 46
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Organizational Unit Representation
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Survey Results: Snapshot Trends
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Survey Results: Snapshot Trends
Levels could be a lot worse, but this indicates that there’s opportunity to
enhance and improve the work environment.
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Notable Findings
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On average, respondents reported moderately high levels of
Employee Engagement (3.7) and high levels of Job Satisfaction
(4.0).
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Service employees reported feeling slightly less supported by their
supervisors than respondents in other roles.
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Respondents reported that their coworkers are supportive and treat
one another fairly.
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Clerical and Service staff have less positive evaluations of their
interpersonal work environment.
On average, respondents perceived faculty and students provided
more respect and recognition than supervisors and coworkers.
Staff reported feeling only moderately (3.5) comfortable reporting
harassment claims.
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Notable Findings
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All organizational units were above the neutral point on the scale as
it pertained to development opportunities.
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66% -- access to programs to learn new technology
54% -- offered assistance with continuing education at Purdue
69% -- sufficient time to learn new technology and skills on the job
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Clerical and Service staff rated Leadership Competence and
Supervisor Support slightly lower than Management staff.
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Clerical (2.8) and Service (3.0) tend to feel like they have less control
over the amount of work they are expected to accomplish
compared to Management staff.
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Fourteen percent of respondents reported holding a second job.
Open-ended comments had staff reporting the need for a second
job was due to financial demands.
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Flexible Work Arrangements
Use of FWAs:
• 54% of respondents use an FWA. Of these,
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89% flextime
25% compressed work week
9% telework
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2% job sharing
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Other FWA findings:
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Employees with FWAs reported higher levels of engagement
Non-exempt employees with FWAs had higher levels of engagement
Exempt employees reported about the same level of engagement whether or
not they had access to FWAs.
Access to FWAs uneven, despite being a University policy used with supervisor
permission.
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Comments from Open Ended Question
Over 1,100 staff answered an open ended survey question about the
Purdue work environment. Responses from employees to open ended
survey items were extremely varied. Categories of comments include*:
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Enjoy Job/Enjoy Working at Purdue
Supervision/Leadership – Competence & Supportiveness
Bullying, Intimidation and Harassment
Work Control/Schedule Control
Relationship with Manager & Coworkers
Work/Life Balance
Advancement or Training Opportunities
Compensation & Benefits
* Not comprehensive and not rank ordered in any way
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Comments
“Concerning flex-time, remote work, etc., every department I have
worked in did not allow for any of the benefits. They didn’t know of
a way to make it fair between who could and couldn’t take
advantage of the benefits so no one was allowed . . . More work
needs to be done to help directors and supervisors feel
comfortable and fair in allowing employees to take advantage of
these opportunities.”
“I’ve been with the University for many years . . . My goal was 5
years. I’ve held 5 different positions in that timeframe; each new
position was a step up the ladder or a different type of work for me.
I thoroughly enjoy my work life with Purdue and within the
department that I now work in.”
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Comments
“I have worked at Purdue for several years. I felt a much greater
sense of community at Purdue when I started than I do now. I am
very attached to my department and the people in it. However,
recent reorganization has altered the organization in less than
positive ways. For the first 10 years of my work with Purdue, I would
have said Purdue is a great place to work. Now I would only say it
is a good place to work.”
“My work environment in my current position is great, and I love my
current job. However, I have worked in two other positions at
Purdue where just the opposite was true, and I ended up leaving
those positions. Your work environment at Purdue totally depends
on the supervisor and that particular office environment – there is
no consistency, in my experience.”
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Preliminary Recommendations*
Leadership and supervisor support training
• programs for managers/supervisors
• respecting boundaries between personal life and work life
Creating a culture of comfort around reporting bullying and harassment
• communications clearly stating what constitutes harassment and what
resources are available
• bullying and harassment awareness training for all employees
Increasing interpersonal support
• opportunities for staff to feel their voices are heard
• opportunities to serve on committees
* Not rank ordered
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Preliminary Recommendations* (continued)
Respect and recognition for staff
• policies and practices that consider staff needs and priorities
• make staff appreciation more visible
Development Opportunities
• skill development, professional growth within a position, and promotion
• clarify career paths; specify skills and abilities needed for advancement
Balancing work and non-work responsibilities
• increase FWA awareness & utilization
• assess Purdue’s work-life programs
• programs for caregivers of children and adult dependents
• identify low value work, redundancies, and practices that decrease
productivity
Activities that promote health and well-being
* Not rank ordered
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Project Phases III & IV:
Supervisor Training & Second Staff Survey
Coming Next ….
Phase III: Pilot Leadership Training (January – March 2015)
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Supervisors/managers of non-faculty staff (about 150 participants)
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Two trainings focused on leadership competencies & supervisory behaviors
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Focused on tools for better understanding staff needs in order to create
supportive work environments
Phase IV: Second QWEI Employee Survey (April/May 2015)
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Everyone who was invited to participate in Survey 1
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Goals are to:
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understand the Purdue work environment, assess change since Survey 1 in
engagement
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evaluate training intervention pilot; determine most effective ways to
enrich work lives of staff and improve quality of work environment
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Thank You
Questions,
Comments
&
Discussion
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